Elongated food products such as french fries are frequently served for consumption outside of a restaurant environment. They may be consumed in a vehicle, in the home, or while the consumer is in transit. These food products are frequently accompanied by a separate container of a condiment which is to be applied to the food product prior to consumption. For example, french fries are frequently served with a container of ketchup, french toast sticks or waffle sticks are served with a container of syrup, and chicken fingers are served with a container of dipping sauce. The condiment is provided in a separate container to prevent contact with the food product prior to consumption, which reduces undesirable sogginess and/or heat transfer. Furthermore, when the container is configured to allow dipping the food product, the user may apply the condiment only to one end of the food product, allowing the other end to be readily grasped without contacting the condiment. Such advantages of providing the condiment in a separate container may make such preferable even when the food is to be consumed at the site of food service.
Frequently, the location where the food is consumed has limited space upon which to place containers, so a separate condiment container is difficult to accommodate. Having a separate condiment container also adds to the number of items which must be served, increasing the difficulty of food service. Also, when a separate container is employed for the condiment, the act of dipping the food product creates a risk of spillage, which may soil the clothing of the consumer, furniture, or other surfaces. This is particularly a problem when such foods are consumed by children.
The problems of limited space for accommodating containers and the number of containers which must be served have in part been solved by serving containers which contain an integral condiment container, allowing the condiment to be contained in the same container as the food product. Such serving containers are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,955,528, 5,540,333, Des. 370,412, Des. 737,081, and Des. 376,311. These containers have the disadvantage that they do not allow the condiment to be prepackaged. Rather, the condiment container must be filled at the time of food service, thereby adding to the difficulty of such service and creating a risk of contamination of the condiment. Many of these containers place the condiment in close proximity to an open top of the condiment container, creating a risk of spillage.
To avoid the problems of filling the condiment containers at the time of food service, separate prepackaged condiment containers are frequently employed. Two such containers typically employed are tearable packets and tubs sealed by a removable sheet. In addition to increasing the number of items which must be served, such containers frequently result in waste items which are covered with the condiment. In the case of tearable packets, the condiment frequently oozes onto the surface of the packet when it is torn. In the case of tubs, the removable sheet is frequently covered with condiment on one side. These condiment-covered waste products create a risk of soiling clothing and other surfaces. An additional problem with tearable packets is that it is difficult for the user to apply to condiment to only one end of the food product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,435 teaches a serving container having a rim, to which can be attached a prepackaged condiment container. While the serving container of the '435 patent avoids increased difficulty of food service, the position of the condiment container on the rim of the serving container makes spillage a risk. When a prepackaged condiment container is employed, it is subject to the problems of the prepackaged tubs discussed above. Additionally, the placement of the condiment container on the rim obstructs the opening of the serving container, limiting the ability to readily fill the serving container to full capacity.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,561,664 and 4,039,435 teach containers for a single product having a bottom compartment which can be sealed with a sheet, where a pull tab on the sheet is employed to pull the sheet up off of the bottom compartment. Such containers would be unsuitable for serving a food product and a separate condiment, since pulling the sheet up would dislodge any contents placed above the sheet.
Thus, there is a need for a serving container which can contain both a food product and a separate condiment, which allows for use of prepackaged condiment containers while minimizing the potential for spillage and which avoids obstructing the opening of the serving container. There is also a need for a serving container which allows the use of prepackaged condiments while minimizing the problems of serving multiple items as well as the problems of condiment-covered waste products.